North Carolina Men Arrested After Selling Stun Guns on South Side, Cops Say

Geoffrey Dudding, 27, was arrested Monday after police said he and Michael Smith, 53, were attempting to sell stun guns in Auburn Gresham.
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Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Two North Carolina men were arrested Monday in the South Chicago neighborhood after they tried to sell stun guns in Auburn Gresham, police said.

Geoffrey Dudding, 27, and Michael Smith, 53, faced felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon after police found 15 stun guns in the backseat of their car, according to police documents.

About 1 p.m. Monday, police responded to a call of a black 2013 Mercedes Benz blocking an intersection near East 89th Street and South Commercial Avenue. Dudding and Smith had gotten out of the car when police arrived, and when officers approached the car, they found 15 stun guns in the back seat, including five flashlight stun guns that carry a 3.8 million-volt charge, according to court documents.

Police arrested the two men, who both have felony convictions on their records, after the Office of Emergency Management and Communications relayed reports of people in a black Benz selling stun guns near West 87th Street and South Ashland Avenue.

Smith told police that he "purchased the stun guns from Atlanta, Georgia and came to Chicago with a crew that sells the stun guns for him," according to court documents. Dudding told police he worked for Smith, according to court documents.

Dudding — of the 13300 block of Mallard Creek Road in Charlotte, N.C. — was ordered held on $70,000 bail Tuesday by Cook County Judge Laura Sullivan.

Sullivan ordered Smith — of the 11600 block of Stewarts Crossing Drive in Charlotte — held on $60,000 bail.

It is illegal to carry functional stun guns or transport them in a car when they are readily accessible.